Mount for co-locating an access point and an antenna

ABSTRACT

Mount for an access point and an antenna includes a base for attachment to a mounting structure, the base for attaching thereto an access point; and a tray pivotably attached to the base, the tray for attaching thereto an antenna. The tray is disposed above the base and the tray is positionable at an angle relative to a reference plane.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a nonprovisional application claiming the priority benefit ofProvisional Application Ser. No. 62/023,634, filed on Jul. 11, 2014,hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to antennas and access points (radiotransmitting devices) and the methods in which to locate them togethersuch that they operate as a single apparatus instead of two distinctparts or components.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Wireless communications are prevalent everywhere in today's society.Access points (radios) are used to provide wireless communication andantennas are used on the access points to transmit and receive data. Theantennas used on access points are either internal or external antennas.Internal antennas are designed inside the access point and areinconspicuous to the users. External antennas are connected to theaccess port via coaxial cables and are seen by the users. When theseaccess points are mounted to the ceiling or the wall, the antenna ismounted in as close proximity as possible to the access point. Thecables and antenna can be bulky and not aesthetically pleasing to theowner of the structure (building) or users of the system.

The co-locating of antennas and access points has been accomplished inthe past by mounting an enclosure on the wall or a pole/mast. Theenclosure has the access point (radio) mounted to a back plate insidethe enclosure and the antenna mounted onto the door of the enclosure.This type of design does not provide the articulation for the antennaand can be big, bulky and heavy.

Ceiling tile enclosures have been used to mount access points andexternal antennas but the antennas do not have a way for them to bearticulated.

There have been other instances where the access point is mounted insidean enclosure that is mounted on the ceiling, replacing a ceiling tidegrid. On the outside or in some case inside, the external antennas aremounted and connected to the access point.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a mount for an access point (radio) andan antenna, including a base for attachment to a mounting structure, thebase for attaching thereto an access point; and a tray pivotablyattached to the base, the tray for attaching thereto an antenna. Thetray is disposed above the base and the tray is positionable at an anglerelative to a reference plane.

The mount according to the present invention advantageously co-locatesthe antenna on top of the access point (radio) in a clamshell type ofdesign. The antenna is attached in such a manner that it can swivel ±25degrees such that it can be positioned to optimize its performance inconjunction with the radio. The mount is designed such that the cablesfrom the antenna to the radio are hidden between the antenna and accesspoint. There are clips that the cables are routed through that hold thecables in place. When the antenna and access point are attached to themount, it looks as if there is only an antenna mounted for an aestheticinstallation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a mount showing a base for an accesspoint and a tray for an antenna.

FIG. 2 as side elevational view of the mount of FIG. 1, showing anaccess point attached to the base and an antenna attached to the tray.

FIG. 3 is a perspective of the base of the mount.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the bottom side of the tray.

FIG. 5 is bottom plan view of the tray shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is an assembly view of the mount of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the mount of FIG. 2, showing therange of adjustment of the tray.

FIG. 8 is a blank of the base of mount.

FIG. 9 is a blank of the tray.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view along lines 10-10 in FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A mount 2 embodying the present invention for co-locating an antenna 4and an access point (AP) 6 is disclosed in FIGS. 1 and 2. The mount 2includes a base 8 and a tray 10 pivotably attached to the base 8.

Referring to FIG. 3, the base 8 is preferably formed from sheet metalinto a substantially U-shaped structure with a base portion 12 and legportions 14 and 16 extending from the base portion 12. Keyhole shapedopenings 18 are provided on the base portion 12 for use in attaching theaccess point 6 to the base portion 12. Holes 20 are used to attach thebase 8 to a vertical structure, such as wall of a building. Holes 22 and23 are used to attach the base 8 to a ceiling tile grid using a standardclamp. A captured nut 25 is used to ground the access point 6.

A locking tab 31 is used to padlock the access point 6 if desired. Thelocking tab 31 is preferably made from sheet metal.

The base portion 12 includes a main base portion 24, attachment walls 21and arms 26 and 28 extending from the intermediate portions 27 and 29 ofthe respective sides of the raised attachment walls 21. The attachmentwalls 21 are offset from the main base portion 24. Each of the arms 26and 28 are bent preferably about 90° at intermediate portions 30 and 32to form the legs 14 and 16 of the U-shaped base 8. The main base portion24 is preferably substantially rectangular in plan view and the arms 26and 28 are preferably longer than they are wide. Adjusting screws 34 areattached to the end portions of the respective leg portions 14 and 16for attaching the tray 10 to the base 8.

The main base portion 24 is advantageously offset from the raisedattachment walls 21 to provide clearance for the screws or otherstandard attachment hardware that is used to attach the base 8 to asupport structure, such as the building wall or ceiling. The raisedattachment walls 21 further provide for attaching the access point 6 tothe base 8 after the base has been secured to the support structure.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the tray 10 includes a base wall 36 and sidewalls 38 and 40. The side walls 38 and 40 are preferably 90° to the basewall 36. The side walls 38 and 40 are advantageously pivotably attachedto and angularly adjustable from the base 8 by means of the screws 34.Cut-out corners 42 and 44 are provided at opposite corners of each ofthe side walls 38 and 40 to provide clearance when the position of thetray 10 is adjusted angularly about the screws 34 (see FIG. 7).

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the tray 10 is shown with the underside 45visible. Holes 46 are disposed in the base wall 36 for screws to gothrough for attaching the antenna 4 to the tray 10. Cable holders 48 ofstandard construction are attached to the underside 45 along the cornerbetween the base wall 36 and the side walls 38 and 40. The cable of theantenna 4 is routed underneath the tray 10 and held by the cable holders48. Captured nuts 50 are attached in corresponding openings in the sidewalls 38 and 40 for threadedly receiving the adjusting screws 34. Holes52 disposed in the side walls 38 and 40 are used for attaching the cableholders 48 to the tray 10.

Side walls 53 and 55 disposed preferably 90° to the base wall 36advantageously provide structural rigidity to the base wall 36. A notch57 advantageously provides space for cable routing between the antenna 4and the access point 6.

Referring to FIG. 6, the mount 2 is shown in an assembly view. Adhesivebacked foam washers 59 are disposed between the leg portion 16 and theside wall 38 and between the leg portion 14 and the side wall 40. Thefoam washers 52 include an adhesive on one surface for attachment toeither the leg portions 14 and 16 or the side walls 38 and 40. The foamwashers 52 advantageously provide friction between the confrontingsurfaces of the leg portion 16 and the side wall 38 and the leg portion14 and the side wall 40 so that that tray 10 when pressed together withthe adjusting screws 34 will be locked in the desired angular positionand will tend to shift. A person of ordinary skill in the art willunderstand that metal to metal contact has less friction than metal tofoam.

Raised dimples 76 are provided to securely hold the access point 6 inplace. Each keyhole-shape opening 18 is associated with a raised dimple76, which is disposed outwardly of the respective raised dimple 76.

Referring to FIG. 7, the base wall 36 of the tray 10 is angularlyadjustable either clockwise or counterclockwise by about 25° relative toa reference plane 61 preferably parallel with the main base portion 24from a base position 63 wherein the base wall 36 is parallel with thereference plane 61. Taking counterclockwise direction as positive andclockwise direction negative, the tray is adjustable about ±25°. Theability to provide antenna articulation of ±25° provided by the mount 2advantageously allows for optimization of system performance viapositioning of the antenna 4.

Referring to FIG. 8, the base 8 is preferably made from a sheet metalblank 54 with a central portion 54 and arms 58 and 60. To make the base8, the central portion 56 is bent up preferably 90° along lines 62 toform the main base portion 24 and bent down preferably 90° along lines64 to form the attachment walls 21. The arms 58 and 60 are then bent uppreferably 90° along lines 66 to form the leg portions 14 and 16. A tab67 is used to attach the locking tab 31 to the base 10 by regular means,such as by spot welding. Holes 69 are provided for the screws 34.

Referring to FIG. 9, the tray 10 is preferably made from a sheet metalblank 68. To make the tray 10, the blank 66 is bent down preferably 90°along lines 70, 72 and 74 to form the side walls 38, 40, 53 and 55.Holes 75 are provided for the captured nuts 50.

Referring to FIG. 10, a partial cross-sectional view of the base 8 showsthe manner of attaching the access point 6 to the base 8. Raised dimples76 support the bottom surface of the access point 6. Attaching screws 78includes flanges 80 substantially aligned with the top surface 82 of theattachment walls 23. When the attachment walls 23 are pressed down inthe direction 91 and flex about the offset walls 90, the access point 6moves down, allowing the screw flanges 80 to be positioned below thebottom surface 84 of the attachment walls 23. This allows the accesspoint 6 to be translated on the attachment walls 23 so that the flanges80 are then positioned below the narrow slot of the keyhole shapedopenings 18. When the attachment walls 23 are released from the downwardpressure generally indicated by the arrows 91, the attachment walls 23flex back to their original position, thereby capturing the screwflanges 80 under the bottom surface 82. Thus, the access point 6 issecurely attached to the attachment walls 23. The space 86 below theraised attachment walls 21 allows for the downward flexing of theattachment walls 21. The space 86 further provides clearance for thescrew heads of the screws 80 from the surface of the support structure,such the building wall or ceiling. The offset 88 advantageously providesclearance for the screw heads or other standard hardware used to attachthe base 8 to the support structure.

Once the base 8 is attached to the support structure and the accesspoint 6 secured to the base 8, all attaching screws or attachmenthardware are advantageously hidden from view and inaccessible, therebydeterring theft.

The mount 2 advantageously co-locates the antenna 4 on top of the accesspoint (radio) 6 in a manner that generally hides the access point 6 fromview to make it look like there is only the antenna 4 that is mounted.This is accomplished by having the tray 10 overly the base 8 at allsides of the base 8 (see FIGS. 2 and 7). The tray 10 also has downwardlydisposed side walls 38, 40, 53 and 55 that hide portions of the accesspoint 6 from view. The base 8 together with the tray 10 is similar to aclamshell. The mount 2 is designed such that the cables from the antenna4 to the access point 6 are hidden.

The ability to co-locate the access point 6 and the antenna 4 and havethis configuration operate as a single apparatus gives a distinctadvantage over the current methods of hanging, placing or securing anaccess point on a wall or ceiling. The mount 2 advantageously savesspace and is aesthetically pleasing.

While this invention has been described as having preferred design, itis understood that it is capable of further modification, uses and/oradaptations following in general the principle of the invention andincluding such departures from the present disclosure as come withinknown or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains,and as may be applied to the essential features set forth, and fallwithin the scope of the invention or the limits of the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A mount for an antenna for an access point, comprising: a)a base for attachment to a mounting structure; b) a tray operablyattached to said base, said tray is pivotable about an axis of rotation,said axis is stationary relative to said base and any radial distancebetween said tray and said axis is fixed at all angular positions ofsaid tray, said tray for attaching thereto an antenna; c) said tray isangularly positionable about said axis for positioning the antenna at adesired direction; d) said base including a base portion and first andsecond leg portions extending from said base portion; e) said trayincluding a base wall and first side wall and second side wall attachedto said base wall; f) said first leg portion is pivotably attached tosaid first side wall; and g) said second leg portion is pivotablyattached to said second side wall.
 2. The mount of claim 1, wherein: a)a first screw for pivotably attaching said first leg portion to saidfirst side wall; and b) a second screw for pivotably attaching saidsecond leg portion to said second side wall.
 3. The mount of claim 2,and further comprising: a) a first adhesive-faced foam washer operablyassociated with said first screw, said first adhesive-faced foam washeris disposed between said first leg portion and said first side wall; andb) a second adhesive-faced foam washer operably associated with saidsecond screw, said second adhesive-faced foam washer is disposed betweensaid second leg portion and said second side wall.
 4. The mount of claim1, wherein said tray is positionable about said axis about ±25°.
 5. Themount of claim 1, wherein said base wall of said tray is for attachingthereto the antenna.
 6. The mount of claim 5, and further comprisingcable holders disposed below said base wall and attached to said trayfor holding cable between the antenna and the access point.
 7. The mountof claim 1, wherein said first and second side walls each includescut-out corners.
 8. The mount of claim 1, wherein said first and secondleg portions are 90° to said base portion.
 9. The mount of claim 1,wherein: a) said base includes raised attachment walls for attaching anaccess point to said base; b) said raised attachment walls includingkeyhole-shaped holes; c) raised dimples disposed on said raisedattachment walls, each of said raised dimples is associated withrespective one of said keyhole-shaped holes; and d) each of said raiseddimples is disposed outwardly of respective one of said keyhole-shapedholes.
 10. The mount of claim 9, wherein the access point when attachedto said base hides from view and makes inaccessible an attachmenthardware for attaching said base to a support structure.
 11. The mountof claim 1, wherein: said base portion includes a main base portion andattachment wall portions.
 12. The mount of claim 1, wherein said firstand second side walls are disposed 90° to said base wall.
 13. The mountof claim 1, wherein said base is U-shaped.
 14. The mount of claim 1,wherein said tray is U-shaped.